The 49ers are reportedly receiving trade inquiries about Trey Lance, so what scenarios would make a seemingly long-shot deal occur?
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Lance trade scenarios: Why would 49ers move on with Purdy health uncertain?
Trading away Trey Lance seems like a preposterous idea.
The 49ers just opened their offseason program Monday, with Lance, Purdy and newcomer Sam Darnold in their quarterback stable. Purdy is only 5 1/2 weeks removed from elbow surgery that will keep him sidelined into the summer.
If Lance leaves, it’s Darnold or bust, at least the next few months while Purdy recovers? That is illogical, unless a more heralded veteran comes in return.
Of course the 49ers won’t get an even return on their 2021 investment, what with Lance still a mystery (four career starts) but also with an injury history that most recently lists him coming off an ankle fracture.
“We have three quarterbacks who are good with us right now,” Shanahan added on March 28, “and we’re pretty set with how we’ve built our roster salary cap-wise.”
The 49ers have $2.7 million in salary cap space, and still must sign their draft class; they have 11 picks, starting with three late in the third round next Friday.
It’s too early in Purdy’s recovery to know for sure he responds from his March 10 elbow repair, or when he’ll be fully cleared. But the expectation is that he could be fully cleared by September, perhaps early October.
Unloading Lance now means the 49ers are convinced that Purdy will make a successful comeback, and that he will recapture the magic of his late-season heroics (eight wins in replace of Jimmy Garoppolo before the NFC Championship Game injury).
It also would mean Darnold made a sensational first impression these first days of the offseason program, that he could steer the 49ers offense while Purdy recovers, after five troubling years with the talent-deprived Jets and Panthers,
Lance has not played enough games to fall totally out of favor with the 49ers, nor has he shown enough to warrant undying loyalty.
The 49ers have required three starting quarterbacks in 5-of-6 seasons under Shanahan, the lone exception being Garoppolo’s 2019 comeback that reached Super Bowl LIV.
Just being thought of on the trade market should remind Lance of the urgency to prove himself. He surely has seen enough of NFL business over the past two years to know any transaction is possible.